Adobe CS5 Illustrator Basic Shape Tools

Adobe Creative Suite 5 (Adobe CS5) Illustrator includes several basic shape tools. The only visible shape tool in the Tools panel is, as a default, the Rectangle tool. Click and hold down that tool and you have access to the Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, and Star tools, although you see the Flare tool, it isn’t a basic shape.

You can tear off this tool set so that you don’t have to find the hidden shapes later. Click and hold the Rectangle tool and drag to the arrow on the far right side. Wait until you see the pop-up hint (Tearoff) and then release the mouse button. These tools are now on a free-floating toolbar that you can drag to another location.

Create rectangles and ellipses

Rectangles and ellipses are the most fundamental shapes you can create. To create a rectangle shape freehand, select the Rectangle tool and simply click the page where you want the shape to appear.

Then drag diagonally toward the opposite side, drag your mouse the distance you want the shape to be in size, and release the mouse button. You can drag up or down. You do the same to create an ellipse by using the Ellipse tool.

After you create the shape, adjust its size and position by using the Selection tool. Reposition the shape by clicking the selected object and dragging. Resize the object by grabbing a handle and adjusting in or out. To adjust two sides together, grab a corner handle. To resize a shape proportionally, Shift+drag a corner handle.

Use the Rounded Rectangle tool

You can create a rounded rectangle by using one of two methods:

Click and drag freehand to create the rounded rectangle shape.

Click the artboard once to open the Rounded Rectangle dialog box, where you can enter values to define the shape. Enter a value in the Corner Radius text field, which determines how much rounding is applied to the corners of the shape.

Change the rounded corner visually by pressing the up and down keys on your keyboard while you’re dragging out the Rounded Rectangle shape on the artboard. The smaller the value, the less rounded the corners; the higher the value, the more rounded the corners.

Using the Polygon tool

You create stars and polygons in much the same way as you create rectangles and ellipses. Select the Polygon tool and click and drag from one corner to another to create the default six-sided polygon shape. You can also select the Polygon tool and click once on the artboard to change the Polygon tool options in the Polygon dialog box.

Change the polygon shape by entering new values in the Radius and Sides text fields. The radius is determined from the center to the edge of the polygon. The value for the number of sides can range from 3 (making triangles a breeze to create) to 1,000.

Using the Star tool

To create a star shape, select the Star tool from the Tools panel. It may hide under other shape tools. If you click the artboard once to open the Star dialog box, you see three text fields in which you can enter values to customize your star shape:

Radius 1: Distance from the outer points to the center of the star

Radius 2: Distance from the inner points to the center of the star

Points: Number of points that comprise the star

The closer together the Radius 1 and Radius 2 values are to each other, the shorter the points on your star. In other words, you can go from a starburst to a seal of approval by entering values that are close in the Radius 1 and Radius 2 text fields.

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